Crewe Alex’s academy is rated in the country’s top 10 for productivity.

That’s according to manager David Artell, who says a recent audit into the club’s Reaseheath operation uncovered some impressive statistics.

Despite running the Category 2 youth system at a fraction of the cost of most bigger clubs’ academies, Artell says the club is outperforming the rest on a pound-for-pound basis.

And despite the ongoing challenges in the transfer market, where Crewe must sell their homegrown players to balance the books, he says the academy remains at the heart of the club.

“I think we are the ninth best academy in the whole country in terms of productivity,” said Artell.

“That’s just come from our audit. I don’t know who the other eight are, we don’t get to find out.

“But I think we’d all agree that’s pretty good going for a club of our size.

“For the money we spend compared to others – we are talking millions and millions and millions – and with the return we get, we’re off the chart.

“It’s not just judged on what thing, it’s complicated. (The audit) goes back 12 years, it depends what level you play at, how many games you play – it’s the Premier League’s criteria.

“But last year, 65% of the first team squad had come to the club between 12 and 16, and 40% from birth to 11.

“There’s no other club in the country – period, full stop – who will have 40% in the foundation phase and 60% in the youth phase, playing in their first team. Not one.

“There are a lot of people here who work their absolute socks off for this football club, and the academy is the cornerstone of the whole place.

“Forget Gresty Road and whoever works there, and forget the first team and whoever works in there.

“The academy is the cornerstone, and while that keeps producing this club will remain in business.”

Crewe, as a club, run at an annual loss and the shortfall has long been made up by income generated by the sale of players.

Over the last three decades they have made tens of millions by selling the likes of Danny Murphy, Seth Johnson, Dean Ashton and Nick Powell.

But the last major sale was Luke Murphy’s £1m switch to Leeds United in 2013.

With youth recruitment and the transfer marketplace perhaps more challenging than ever, some have doubts whether the system is still viable. It costs about £1.2m each year to keep Crewe’s academy running, roughly a third of which is covered by grants.

But former club captain Artell, who was academy operations manager before taking over as boss in January, has always been clear he will embrace the system.

And the commitment to developing youth players was underlined again last week when Crewe took eight more teenagers on a full-time basis.

The group are now first year scholars and have joined the 12 second years already in Lee Bell’s under 18 squad.

Keeper Sam Booth, from Sandbach, has put pen-to-paper along with defenders Rio Adebisi and Matthew Fenton, both from Northwich.

Striker Challis Johnson and midfielder Connor Heath are both from Crewe, while forward Malachi Linton and midfielder Olaolu Odipe are from Ipswich and Manchester respectively.

Artell said: “There are some really good ones coming through.

“Some of the second years have got a right chance, and the first years – I think we’ve recruited well again. The majority of them are local.”